Cyclosporiasis, the explosive diarrhea-causing intestinal illness spreading across the country, has made it to Alabama.
Though the outbreak in other states is much worse, State Health Officer Scott Harris said at the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Thursday meeting (July 16) that the department has confirmed 11 cases in Alabama. He explained that it’s too early to know the cases’ origin but said the state is working to trace them.
“One or two of those are linked to outbreaks in other states that we know about,” Harris said. “The others, I’m not sure about how they’re linked or if they’re linked. There may be other cases as well. … So we have a few, we certainly don’t have what a lot of the country is seeing.”
How it is transmitted
Cyclosporiasis is transmitted through produce contaminated with feces and causes “explosive” or watery diarrhea. The illness is rarely fatal, even for immunocompromised people, but it can be incapacitating, Harris said.
The multistate outbreak of the protozoa-caused disease began in late June and is most prevalent in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. It’s not currently clear what caused the outbreak, but historic cases were linked to leafy greens, Harris said.
Number of cases
There were 1,645 reported cases in the country as of Monday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eight percent of those cases – 141 – ended in hospitalizations, but no deaths have been reported. As of the same date, 34 states had reported cases to the CDC.
Harris said that Alabama sees a few cases of the disease each year, calling it “certainly well-known to us.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Claire Harrison and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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